UBC Cost sheet - is it worth it

[Censored]

So UBC cost is

>250K tuition four years

>80K living expense four years

LOC interest 25K

355K debt

Over 5 years that’s $6000/month

 

Other dental with 40K / year is

250K  debt

Over 5 years that’s $4200/month

 

Q1. to new dental grads - is this accurate estimate of what to expect after 4 years?

Q2.  Just to be clear, do you get taxed the same amount whether your debt ridden or not? - E.g. 95% of ur income goes toward paying debt

Q3.  How much do you need to make per month before taxes in order to stay off the streets?

Q4.  scholarships handed out to dental students are puny compared to debt - at least in UBC. Is there alternative financing methods  other than working as an army slave for 6 years?

Q5. Working in the U.S to pay off the debt - could you expect faster credit recovery compared to staying in Canada? Any insight on Owning a clinic in U.S vs Canada - for debt repayment purposes - would be greatly appreciated

Q6. Specialization - after looking at debts, additional tuition + years to specialize seems to be an option open to those from privileged families. Is the expected increases in “debt-repayment-capabilities” enough to offset accumulating interest?

I am fully devoted to dentistry, but if that means paying debt for 10 years straight, struggling to put food on the table, then other possibilities must be explored. I would truly, most sincerely want to be proven wrong with these numbers. 

 

[Lvl3sonly]

1. Your numbers are correct, but you don't need to pay off debt that rapidly over 5 years. Nowadays banks will convert the student loan to a professional line of credit when you graduate and you don't even have to make any payments beside the monthly interest. Of course, you would be dumb to not pay it off eventually, but the 355k over 10 years becomes much more manageable at ~3500-3600 a month.

2. Yes you get taxed the same whether you are debt ridden or not, but you should have built up a ton of tuition credits from years of undergrad and dental school. In my case I didn't pay any taxes except for CPP (~5000) for my first 6 months of employment after graduation, and a decent chunk of my income taxes the following year were offset as well with the tuition credits. 

3. That totally depends on the city you are working in. According to statscan (https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016024/98-200-x2016024-eng.cfm), median income of a college graduate in Canada in 2015 was ~68000. Let's round it up to 70k assuming inflation. After taxes that's 4400 a month. Now, as a dentist, to make that equivalent amount of after tax money *after* paying off your debt, you would need to make ~145k. Pretty doable.

That's just to keep up with the median income. You can live a decent life with that amount depending on the location. Now, buying a house in Toronto or Vancouver? Whole other story

4. Yes you can work as an army slave, your tuition is 100% paid for and they also provide you a stipend of ~50k a year. Instead of coming out of school with 355k debt, you are ahead 120k assuming 20k living expenses/year. Granted, as a dentist working in the army your income potential is limited. Also, you have no choice of which location you will be put in. Some areas are much better than others. 

5. Not sure about working in the US compared to Canada, totally depends on where you work. In some places in the states associates are making 25% of collections. 

6. Too broad of a question to ask. Income potential of a specialist is obviously higher than a GP. Whether that's worth the 3-6 years of extra schooling is up to you. 

 

If you are willing to work in areas where there is less saturation, then it is worth it. Even 355k of debt isn't unmanageable. Plenty of rural areas where you can make 250+ as an associate no problem. Those jobs are harder to find in the city, but still doable.